The sixteenth meeting of the National Security Committee was chaired by Prime Minister Mr. Shahid Khaqan Abbasi today in Islamabad. Prof Ahsan Iqbal, Minister for Interior, Lt. General (Retd.) Nasser Khan Janjua, National Security Advisor, General Zubair Mehmood Hayat, Chairman JCSC, General Qamar Javed Bajwa, Chief of the Army Staff, Admiral Zafar Mahmood Abbasi, Chief of the Naval Staff, Air Chief Marshall Sohail Aman, Chief of the Air Staff, and senior civil and military officials attended the meeting.

The National Security Committee condemned the terrorist attack on the Bethel Memorial Methodist Church in Quetta on Sunday, terming it to be against the fundamental tenets of peace and tolerance taught by Islam.

The Foreign Secretary briefed the meeting on the OIC Extraordinary Summit and Council of Foreign Ministers Meetings on Al Quds Al-Sharif held in Istanbul on 13th December 2017, following the decisions taken by the Trump Administration to recognise Jerusalem as Israel’s capital and its announcement to shift US Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. Observing that these two decisions had created an incomprehensible situation not just for the Muslim Ummah but also for the international community in general, the Committee emphasized that the establishment of a sovereign Palestinian State remained a major objective of the Muslim Ummah, that Pakistan cannot accept the unilateral decisions taken by the Trump Administration, and that it would continue to impress upon the United States its moral and political responsibility towards a just and fair resolution of the issue, and the need to revoke the steps taken.

The National Security Committee also reviewed the rapidly evolving security situation in the Middle East as well as the latest developments in Pakistan’s relations with the GCC States and Iran. After thorough analysis, the meeting reaffirmed that Pakistan would continue to work for the unity and solidarity of the Muslim Ummah, for which it shall intensify its efforts in view of the growing challenges.

The Secretary Interior apprised the Committee of the progress made in each of the twenty areas of the National Action Plan (NAP). The Committee observed that while fair progress had been made in the implementation of the NAP, certain areas, such as policy and institutional reform, needed more commitment and attention.

The Committee also observed that as a responsible member of the International community, Pakistan would continue to fulfill its obligations under the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) framework, which would be shared in due course with the FATF.

Finally, the National Security Committee tasked the National Security Advisor to finalise the National Security Policy at the earliest after taking all stakeholders on board.